South Carolina Current Drought Status

S.C. Drought Response Committee Meeting, September 16, 2008

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources will convene the South Carolina Drought Response Committee on Tuesday, September 16, 2008, at 10:00 AM. The meeting will be held at the Greenville County Council Building, Council Chambers, located at 301 University Ridge in Greenville, SC.

The purpose of the drought meeting is to evaluate the drought status statewide. The committee will review climatic data, streamflow and lake level data, and drought impacts. Local response to the on-going drought will also be reviewed to determine if additional actions are needed to insure sustainable water supplies.

If you have any questions, please contact me at 803-734-9568 or email me at mizzellh@dnr.sc.gov.

Governor Continues to Urge Water Conservation.

Discussion:

GOVERNOR ASKS CITIZENS TO HEED CALL FOR VOLUNTARY CONSERVATION

Columbia, S.C. - August 15, 2008 - Following his tour earlier this week of Pickens County in the state's most severely drought-stricken region, Governor Sanford again today urged citizens to take water conservation measures upon themselves and voluntarily conserve water in advance of any state requirement.

"Whether or not you're being impacted right now with any restrictions, it's important for people to know that this drought situation is very real and that folks in the Upstate, particularly farmers, are hurting right now," Gov. Sanford said. "To that end, I'd again urge all South Carolinians - particularly those in the Upstate - to take individual initiative to conserve water. I can't emphasize enough the importance of doing so now if we want to avoid restrictions later on."

On Wednesday, the governor asked that all but two of South Carolina's counties be declared federal disaster areas. Gov. Sanford noted in a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer that more than 30 percent of this year's harvest of corn, hay and pasture crops have already been lost because of the drought.

The state Drought Response Committee has also asked residents in the 14-county extreme drought area to voluntarily conserve water, and some water systems imposed mandatory restrictions on certain water usage. The state Department of Natural Resources has also issued a number of tips for water conservation, which can be found at http://www.dnr.sc.gov/climate/sco/Drought/Drought_press/release_Jul21_2008.php.

For more drought information contact State Climatologist Hope Mizzell in Columbia at (803) 734-9568 or e-mail MizzellH@dnr.sc.gov.